The Message in the Candy Wrapper
by Avian Swallow
Summary: Every time Neville visits his parents at St. Mungo’s his mother gives him a Drooble’s Best Blowing Gum wrapper. He treasures them as a gift from his mother, but an empty gum wrapper is just a bit of paper, until an odd comment from Luna makes him think.


AN: I wrote this little story several years ago and I believe it is posted under my alternate screen name of Falconwing in several places. However I recently found this on an old floppy disk and decided that it deserved a bit of a revamp.

The first part of this story takes place midway through book five in an unseen bit of the Christmas train ride.

Enjoy

Avian Swallow

Standard disclaimer does apply

The Message in the Candy Wrapper

Neville sat quietly on the train home staring out the window his plant held securely on his lap. His thoughts drifted from one thing to another never quite settling on a single topic. He didn't even notice when Ron went in to an outrage over Ginny's newest choice in boyfriend. Not that Neville really cared. Ginny was both kind and pretty, but he didn't think she would date him, especially since Neville was still convinced she had a crush on Harry, no matter how hard Ginny tried to hide it.

"Ron!" came Hermione's annoyed voice, "can't you put your candy wrappers in the dust bin like a normal person?" She was waving a discarded chocolate frog box under his nose.

"Candy wrappers have hidden messages in them," came a soft voice. Neville looked up before realizing it was only Luna Lovegood come to collect her Quibbler magazine back from Ginny, who was currently doing a quiz. "Take Drooble's for example."

"Really?" said Hermione with an annoyed expression on her face. Neville subconsciously noted that Hermione was often annoyed when Luna was around. Neville kind of liked Luna's ideas. They were creative, and entertaining.

Luna only nodded. "If you rearrange the letter's in the name you can get the words _be strong, blue owls dig_ with the letters O, and M left over." Hermione snorted and Neville went back to watching out the window.

Christmas was coming fast. He enjoyed spending time with his Gran, (when she wasn't telling him how to do things) and his Uncle was always fun, but with Christmas came the visit to his parents at St. Mungo's. he loved them, but every visit Neville was hit with reality. He parents could barely communicate, they weren't like other kids' parents. Neville would never go to a Quidditch match with them, or on a family trip. There were no family dinners with his dad complaining about work, or awful meals when his mother experimented with a new recipe. It was hard to visit, and know there was very little chance they would ever get better. His parents were heroes in his eyes for everything they had done when _He_ had been around, but they were stuck in a hospital ward.

Neville blinked back the tingling feeling in his eyes and swallowed the lump in his throat. Now was not the time to feel sad. Not when someone might see and ask. He continued to stare out the window.

* * *

Some days later Neville sat by his parents' beds in St. Mungo's. His father was currently asleep, but his Mum was sitting up and chattering. If pointing and make unintelligible sounds could be called chatter. Neville had brought his school bag (intending to do his Potions and Herbology homework during lunch) and at one point his Mum dug out One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi and began pointing to the various flower pictures and matching them to the plants by the other occupant's beds. The nurse of course took this as a sign she was getting better. Neville didn't say anything.

Every year something happened to give the nurses hope, but every year there was no change. Neville had very little hope left. He refused to allow him self to hope anymore. Hopes would only be shattered next time the doctor declared there was no further change.

Around lunchtime Neville's Gran came to pick him up. As they reached the door his Mum came over with her usual 'Drooble's Best Blowing Gum' wrapper. Neville took the wrapper. He would never admit it, but he had a shoe box of them hidden under his bed.

"That's nice, Alice, dear," he heard his Gran say, and then another voice echoed through his head.

_"Candy wrappers have hidden messages in them. Take Drooble's for example."_

Turning he watched her climb back into bed a little sadly. "Mum wait!"

"Neville what . . ." Ignoring his Gran, he dropped his school bag into the chair beside the bed.

"Mum? Have you been trying to tell us something?" His Mum nodded and began rummaging through the bag. Pulling out a piece of parchment and a quill she pointed to them and then the gum wrapper several times before he understood what she wanted.

"You want me to write down the letters you point to?" Again she nodded.

It took at least a half hour. Alice sometimes pointed to one letter and then made him cross it out and begin the word again. She would take the quill from him and put a large dot were the period should be. Other times she motioned for him to start a new line and once she had him put an apostrophe where a letter she didn't have should be.

Neville found the whole thing frustrating. He wished she could just say whatever it was. Especially when he realized that the work only amounted to nine words. It wasn't until he read them, that he realized exactly how worth it the whole thing was. Reading over his shoulder, Neville's Gran had to pull out a handkerchief and wipe her eyes.

Be well. Do good. Remember I lo'e u son. 


End file.
